Beowulf....tada!!

Protecting your people or protecting your pride. For a super hero the obvious choice would be to protect the ones who couldn't protect themselves, right? Looking at a modern day hero like Batman, and a 100 year old hero Beowulf, even though they come from distant times, the hero in them is nothing different. Beowulf, an epitome for his culture and time period, was seen as a god who could defeat monsters and had everything needed to be a hero. Meanwhile, Batman, a successful, smart, and clever man used his wealth and wits to help the people of Gotham, always putting the safety of others before anything. Though both of these characters may seem like their soul purpose is to protect others, their attitude, and actions have slightly different backgrounds. 

As a hero your almost expected to be perfect, always having your mind set to protecting your people. However, not all heroes have that same view. Some would say that Beowulf's pride and arrogance always got the best of, never wanting to receive help or fail. Having others know that he was strong and capable of defeating the Grendel was more important than actually defeating the Grendel itself.  Yet, for Batman advertising his victories wasn't really what he had in mind, he always disguised his life of a hero. I believe for Batman, because of his parents death and the pain he went through, he didn't want anyone else to experience what he had, and he made sure that didn't happen. A heroes attitude may not always be expected, but it's their actions that really speak out. 

In the world that Beowulf was around monsters were the main threat in town, and for Batman the only people to fear were the ones around you. For a hero, they are determined on how they fight, who they fight, and what they fight for. I believe this is where two heroes are no different despite their time periods. Even though Batman's heroism came from his brains and his wealth, that didn't stop him from attempting the impossible. He kept his loyalty to Gotham, just as Beowulf did to his king. However, the way they dealt with their enemy was very different. Being that Batman is just like any other person, he never really killed his opponent, like the Joker. He always found an alternative either leaving it to the authorities or finding another way to punish the bad guys. Whereas in Beowulf, he always went for the kill, defeating the Grendel, knowing that was his job. 

In the end, a hero isn't perfect. They are just individuals who have the heart and mind to protect those who can'r protect themselves, and mask or not, powers or no powers, Beowulf and Batman have what it takes to be called a hero.